Condo builders' new wave flows to the south

Lower costs for land draw two developers to Columbia City

By AUBREY COHEN, P-I REPORTER

Published
10:00 pm PDT, Friday, April 20, 2007

A Seattle developer has proposed a mixed-use project in Columbia City aimed at providing homes typical workers can afford to buy, while another developer also has condo plans in the up-and-coming South Seattle neighborhood.

The 63-condo development, called Columbia City Place, would be built on a vacant former auto lot at 5201 Rainier Ave. S., and units would cost between $200,000 and $400,000 -- plus whatever inflation tacks on in the two years before the project is completed, said Scott Shapiro, managing director of Eagle Rock Ventures LLC.

Shapiro said he and partner Murray Kahn are keeping prices down by using more basic finishes and wood construction for the upper floors, rather than concrete and steel, by installing above-ground parking and by building in Columbia City, where land is cheaper.

His project would include a main building along Rainier Avenue South with 57 studios and one- and two-bedroom condos on three floors above street-level retail space, plus four row houses along 39th Avenue South.

The prices would be lower than at many new condos going up these days, but still could be out of reach for many. Last year, the typical single person in Seattle earned enough to buy a home for just under $200,000, while the typical family of four had enough to pay just over $280,000, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Columbia City has become increasingly popular in recent years, but it's not a condo hotspot like Belltown or Capitol Hill.

"It's a huge risk because no one's done condos of this scale in Columbia City," Shapiro said. "I could be in the right place at the right time or I could be three years early."

Matthew Gardner, a Seattle land-use economist who works with condo developers, said Columbia City is a natural next place to build.

"We've already explored heading north," he said. "We can't go east and we can't go west. Continued development going down the Rainier Valley is going to be a foregone conclusion."

While other developers are thinking about building in the area, Shapiro's project is "pioneering," Gardner said. "I think he's on the leading edge, definitely."

Seattle's Harbor Properties had its own Columbia City residential-retail project in the works for about 3.5 acres it has under contract along Rainier Avenue.

Columbia City is "a little neighborhood with a soul," said Denny Onslow, Harbor's chief development officer.

Onslow and Harbor development director Steve Orser agree that Columbia City projects should take off after Sound Transit launches light-rail service in 2009, providing a quick link to the city core.

Projects such as these would have been "unthinkable" a decade ago, said Darryl Smith, who bought his Columbia City home in 1994 and became a Windermere Real Estate agent there the following year.

"This is confirmation of a lot of the hard work people have been putting in for 10 or 15 years," he said. "For a lot of us, it is kind of a pat on the back saying 'job well done.' "

Smith said the projects would create new housing opportunities for people who cannot afford a house or those who might want a smaller home within walking distance of shopping and services. He also praised Harbor officials for saying they want to work with community members on their project and respect Columbia City's character.

The cost of land in Columbia City is about $20,000 per unit -- about $40,000 less than in more fashionable districts, Shapiro said.

That's a big part of why unit prices will hit about $350 per square foot in today's dollars, compared with $500 to $600 in Belltown.

But Columbia City's potential to become the next Ballard, with booming condo development, is limited by its zoning, which generally allows condos for only about a block, or less, on each side of Rainier Avenue.

Building also is limited by the height limit in the area, 40 feet. While Shapiro would prefer to build up to 80 feet, anything higher is beyond the range of wood construction, and taller buildings drive up the price of land.

Despite that, Shapiro would like to see a dense strip with buildings up to 80 feet along Rainier, stepping back to lower condo and apartment buildings, then town homes, then single-family homes. But that would require rezoning areas now designated for single-family homes, something city officials have said they would not consider.

City rules also guide the new project's parking. Shapiro estimated he'd save about $20,000 in building costs per stall by keeping parking above ground, although he said he could bring the cost down even more if city rules did not require him to build one space per unit. Last year, the city reduced or eliminated parking requirements in many urban centers.

One of the few details Orser and Onslow gave out about the Harbor project is that parking would be underground. They said their homes in Columbia City could still be somewhat cheaper than many others because the price of land is more in line with West Seattle than Ballard, Capitol Hill and downtown.

Orser did not yet have prices for his homes, but said, "We'll be conscious of trying to reach that middle-income bracket."

He and Onslow expect to have more details on their plans and start the city approval process in six to eight months, but would not begin development for 2 1/2 years because plastics manufacturer Saint-Gobain has leased the site until then.